“I see you’ve come.” Solon was sitting in the room as if he had been waiting for me. He was wearing his usual purple robes as a sage. It seemed he was anticipating my arrival.


    “Why did you do something as foolish as revealing that Ares was not the hero?”


    “It was bound to come out eventually.”


    “I reviewed the investigation report. When you referred to ‘Ares,’ you were talking about Ares. But when you referred to ‘that guy’ or ‘him,’ you were talking about Zack.” Solon didn’t answer the question and gave a faint smile.


    “When did Zack become Ares? According to the investigation, Zack was already calling himself Ares when he arrived in the capital…”


    “He was attacked by a demon on the way to the capital, and Ares died. That’s what Zack says, anyway,” Solon replied, as if testing me. He was implying that Zack might have killed Ares.


    “I believe him. But why did you bring this up now?”


    “I already told you, didn’t I? He has no talent. He’s bad at lying. It’s a miracle he wasn’t found out all these years. You probably didn’t think he was dead either, did you, Princess Alexia?”


    At those words, I fell silent.


    “After we returned to the kingdom, you were proposed to a few times. The primary candidate was Leon. But you and Leon both refused, citing that the recently deceased hero was your fiancé. You’ve been avoiding marriage proposals ever since.”


    It wasn’t just Leon; Solon was also a candidate. However, he refused as well. I kept refusing marriage proposals that came my way, and Leon and Solon supported my decision. Only Maria said, “For the sake of the kingdom’s peace, you should get married soon,” and tried to convince me to get married.


    “But that can’t go on forever. His Majesty won’t allow it anymore. That’s why you started a project to document the hero’s achievements. To search for him.”


    That’s right. As part of the country’s policies, I proposed compiling the achievements of the hero into a document and started investigating it myself, believing that he was still alive. However, I had no idea that he wasn’t actually Ares.


    “There are many meddlesome people besides us. Leon is using the power of his earldom to gather information on where he went, and Maria is utilizing the church’s information network to search for him. I have also come up with a few magical spells to search for him.”


    “But you haven’t found him yet?”


    “He went outside the country. It’s not that easy to find him.”


    I felt like Solon’s grumpy expression had softened a bit.


    “Why are you searching for him?”


    “To bring him back. He’s my friend. Life without friends is boring.”


    He spread his arms and tried to joke. “…Doesn’t Zack want to reveal himself as the hero? Are you still going to bring him back?”


    That’s the concern. Zack wants to stick to his lies.


    “Who is he lying for? If he went all the way to Talis Village, he should know, right?”


    “For Shera-san. He wants to at least make it seem like Ares was the hero for her sake.”


    “That’s right. She is Ares’ mother and his foster parent. He even had her draw a picture that resembled Ares.”


    The first time I saw the picture, I thought it was a bit embellished, but there was a reason for it. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    “So what now? Zack won’t come back just for his lies. He’s a strong-willed person who defeated the Demon Lord. But at the same time, we can’t tell Shera-san the truth. We don’t want to waste Zack’s resolve.”


    “That’s true.” Solon readily acknowledged.


    “But what if Shera knew about the lie from the beginning? What would you do then?”


    “I don’t know… I mean, what could we do?”


    “I know. She definitely knows.”


    “Why do you say that?”


    “If you go back and see Shera again, she will tell you.”


    “Do you mean I have to go back to Talis Village again?” It was a ten-day journey by horse, not an easy trip.


    “What? I’ll take you there. I’m not called the Great Sage for nothing.”


    “Are you saying you can teleport us there?”


    “The spell is complete. Only I can use it.”


    Solon said it so casually, but teleportation magic was legendary and not easy to perform.


    “So, what do you say, Princess? Are you too scared to use magic to get there?” Solon challenged.


    Of course, it was scary—magic I’d never seen before. But it was too late to back down now.


    “Very well. Let’s go.”


    When I answered that, Solon stood up and led me to another room. In the deep basement of the mansion, a large magic circle was drawn on the floor.


    “For now, we will teleport from this room, and we can only return to this room.”


    The content was groundbreaking. When Solon and I stood at the center of the circle, he began chanting. The magic circle emitted a pale blue light that engulfed us. In the next moment, we found ourselves in a forest near Talis Village. The scent of plants was strong.


    “Where are we?”


    “We’re in a forest near Talis Village. I chose a place where we won’t be seen. Shera’s house isn’t far from here. Let’s go.”


    Solon started walking briskly. Although he looked like a scholar, he moved like one of the hero’s party members. I hurried after him. Soon we reached the village chief’s house. I knocked, and Shera opened the door.


    “You’ve come again… I thought you would.” She smiled nervously and led us inside.


    “Um… who is this person?”


    “He’s Solon Barclay, known as the Great Sage.”


    “Great Sage… It’s amazing that someone like you would come all the way here. I’m Shera Schmidt. Nice to meet you.” Shera bowed politely to Solon, then knelt before me.


    “You’re Princess Alexia, aren’t you?”


    I explained once more our investigation and belief that Ares—Zack—was alive, and how Leon, Maria, and Solon were all searching for him.


    “But haven’t you found him yet?”


    “He went outside the country. It’s not easy to find him.”


    “What’s the point of looking for him?”


    “To bring him back. He’s my friend. Life without friends is boring.”


    “…Zack doesn’t want to reveal he’s the hero. Are you still going to bring him back?”


    “It’s for Shera. He wants to make Ares the hero for her sake.”


    “That’s right. She’s Ares’ mother and guardian. He even had a picture made to resemble Ares.”


    Shera’s eyes filled with tears as she spoke:


    “But that child had become so magnificent—it was unbelievable. His body was trained like I’d never seen. Only his eyes remained the same. His hands were rough and callused, as if he’d swung a sword tens of thousands of times. Blisters and scars covered his palms. Then I realized: ‘Ah, this child defeated the Demon Lord—for Ares and me.’ I couldn’t tell him his kind lie was a lie.”


    My vision blurred. Solon hid his expression under his hood.


    “I didn’t want Ares or Zack to become heroes. I just wanted them to grow up and live happily. That’s no longer possible for Ares, but at least I want Zack to be happy. And I have to hear about Ares’ final moments from that child’s own mouth. It’s my duty as his mother. So, Princess Alexia, please find that child—find Zack. I beg of you.”